Five More Days
by 3431jess
Summary: "Five days, Mo. Five days….," he whispered back a touch louder. His voice was warm, full of content and hopefulness. "Yes, just five more days, until you are mine."
1. Chapter 1

Note: This is a few closing chapter(s) for my other fiction "It's Arranged." (yes, it's a 3 part shortie)

However, you can enjoy this perfectly without reading it. Enjoy! Thank you gsmith for the beta.

* * *

"What is your biggest dream?" she recalled Maui asking her.

An image of thrilling adventures flashed in her mind, sending an adrenaline rush through her veins. Her head filled with enigmas of thousands of uncharted islands, the deepest secret of the ocean and many other conundrums of the universe out there that was waiting to be uncovered.

Moana knew from the start she wanted to feel the danger and taste the fear of the unknown, to know the limit of the sky, and to test how far she could go. But unexpectedly, time and place had changed her expectation and altered her fate.

Her dream would never be the same anymore.

* * *

Her heart met a new rhythm when he flew in, drumming loudly more than dozens of kakamora's drums. It's him and his vain smile which knocked her six feet under, far more addicting than sailing into the open sea. It's him and his husky, arrogant voice as he bragged relentlessly about their thrilling feat. It's him and that blustering laugh which resembled her favorite song. Before he came, Moana never knew boastful claim and preening flaunt could be this…. _endearing_.

But, isn't what we mean by 'falling in love' a kind of sickness and craziness? Isn't it an illusion, a blindness to what the loved person is really like?

Despite a lot waggling tongue and disapproving glares over their scandalous love affair between god and man, despite waspish gossip about their age gap, love was how Moana felt about him. It was such a simple four letter word, yet it can mean the most complicated things and defined in thousands of different ways.

No matter how insurmountable and unorthodox their relationship was, He was always first - her best friend, and last - her soulmate.

"Ready to conquer the world, _Curly_?" he grinned broadly as he brandished his magical hook and morphed into an Eagle. Moana felt her heart gave a traitorous leap at his offer, she didn't even have a clue where he was taking her, what kind of dangerous mission was ahead of them, but those were of no concern, because she knew he would do anything… and _everything_ to keep her safe.

With his subtle cue, Moana secured herself on his back, her breaths caught in her chest in pleasant anticipation. Before she knew him, she had no idea how could one smile at someone with no apparent reason. He had given the word 'adventure' a new meaning, and that wasn't just involving danger and peril, but also teaching a valuable lesson in life, giving the answer of enigmas of passion and solving the conundrum of what it meant to be complete.

 _Complete_. That was he had made her. It was so complicated to explain yet so simple to see. With him, she would sit contentedly at home instead of sweeping the ocean with her faithful canoe. With him, she willingly woke up doing the mundane routine of household chores every day instead of facing dangerous, thrilling feats like she used to.

"Love you, Big Dope," she whispered into his ear earnestly.

"I know! I am easily the most loveable person on the planet. No second doubt about that," he declared between prideful chuckle. So typical of Maui.

A smile was her reply, as she tightened her grip on his back, giving it a slight squeeze to express how she felt. Her sight fell at the sight of the ring, sitting daintily on her finger, a silent pledge of adherence and a wordless promise of his love. In times like this, she simply couldn't fathom a simple life of happiness he had brought her, and she knew… she just knew both of them were meant to be together.

"Five days, Mo. Five days….," he whispered back a touch louder. His voice was warm, full of content and hopefulness.

 _Yes, just five more days, until you are mine._


	2. Chapter 2

Within minutes, they've arrived in the islands that clearly was covered with a thick layer of dust. After seizing her surrounding, Moana found what the culprit was. Towering over a few villages below, the volcanic mountain was fuming dangerously and ready to pour its anger, searing anything in its way. Moana could feel the slight humming tremor under her feet, which confirmed her suspicion.

"The volcano," Moana pointed out, Maui nodded in agreement.

"Mo, you go ahead and help the villagers to evacuate, I'm going to secure some large stones to avoid the landslide and the lava from flooding the village," he informed her decisively, wielding his Fish Hook while his eyes were busy calculating his next move. Moana hummed her approval and turned towards the village before a thought of apprehension landed on her mind.

"Maui!" she called, causing the Demigod to lower his Fish Hook.

"Yes?"

"Are you sure you will be…-" Moana's line of unwarranted worry was silenced by a large finger that hovered right in front of her lips. Maui chuckled and shook his head in amusement, but he was obviously elated that Moana spared some serious thought over his safety.

"Relax!" He drawled coolly, placing his oversized palm over her shoulder. "You forget that handling formidable danger comes with territory, _Curly_." Maui leered over her and flexed his rippling biceps, causing the sea of tattoos scaling his arms to dance in harmony. "Otherwise….I won't be this old! Yes?" he added. "But!" he revised, "...still undeniably _attractive_ ," he closed his line with a suggestive whisper, waggling his bushy brows.

A few years ago, Moana would feed him her fist or smack him square in the face with her oar over his blatant, flirtatious maneuver. But things had changed since. She had changed, he had changed, and so was the connection between them.

"I'll be back," he said, smiling smugly before morphing into an Eagle and soaring into the bright sky.

But it was all a lie.

Because she had waited...

Moana waited until the sky grew dark, until the moon rose and set, until the morning came, he didn't come back.

When an entourage of Wayfinders was sent to check for the damage, they returned to Motunui with Maui. Moana was almost relieved. _Almost_. Until she saw the condition he was in.

"I think he suffered a concussion," one of the men explained. "We found him unconscious by the foot of the mountain. But, I believe he is still breathing."

Those men helped to shift Maui into a room and carefully placed him on a bed. Then the healer came to inspect him and give his verdict. When the healer's brows slanted despairingly, and he shook his head in remorse, it was then Moana fell into inconsolable tears, taking her heart out between the wall of her rooms.

But she refused to be defeated. After her tears run dry, with rebounding courage and solid determination, she vowed to find and do anything that would bring Maui back to her.

She tried everything: calling more healers, consulting soothsayers, sending numerous prayers and presenting offerings to the gods in the hope to gain their favor - but nothing seemed to work.

 _Nothing_.

* * *

A year later.

The sun had crept towards the border of the horizon, painting the sky above with a brilliant hue of red and orange.

Moana sat by the edge of the shore, drawing long breaths, appreciating the magnificence of what Mother Nature had created before her. She took a moment of peace, focusing on the raw element of nature around her, noting the sound of the crashing wave, the scent of salty sea mixed with the sweet scent of jasmine, feeling the warm swirling breeze of the ocean on her face while keeping her eyes tightly shut. And then, a reminiscence of happier time that she had completely buried made its way to her full attention.

" _Mo...can I ask you something?" she remembered him asking as she took out the food from her sack that she had packed for their lunch earlier._

" _What is it?"_

" _You know that… we've been...we've been together for a while now. And I think, it's time for a change."_

" _A change?" Her curiosity grew. Moana abandoned her food only to realize that Maui had not touched his, and this was so unlike him!_

" _Yes," came his shaky reply._

 _Moana hummed thoughtfully, making Maui feel even more scrutinized._ _"Like what kind of change?"_

 _Maui suddenly felt his courage shrunk and he began rethinking his decision. Moana's eyes narrowed suspiciously observing Maui's untypical apprehension._

 _After a beat and an expectant look from Moana, Maui let out a deep sigh and answered in as roundabout a way he could,_ _"Like, y'know...egg hatched into a chick… and a chick grew up into a hen, and the hen..-"_

" _Maui!" she admonished Maui's vague illustration._

 _If the villagers were there to witness their exchange, they would be floored. Maui was about 350 pounds menacing looking man, with large muscle and his baritone could shake the walls. Yet, a dainty maiden with an oar put him in his place with a single word._

" _Speak in plain language. Please! Metaphorical allegory doesn't agree with me."_

" _Ugh, ok. I mean… a change, in our… relationship," he said, still with slight reticence, however, managed to emphasize the last word to the letter._

" _Ok, so you're saying… you want our relationship to...change…-?" Moana regarded him with a quirk of her brows._

" _Yes, changed and…. Uhmm...moving," he stuttered. "Moving forward," he added, which only mounting to the ambiguity of his statement._

 _Moana mentally facepalmed herself. There was a time like this where she felt the gods purposely put her on trial against Maui's childishness. But despite her thinning patience, she tried to appear supportive and sympathetic. Called this a test of love._

" _I am with you," Moana nodded, even though she wasn't even sure where the conversation was heading. "So… what do want me to do to make this relationship moving forward?"_

" _Mo, do you believe me?"_ _Maui prompted after another beat of silence._

 _Moana folded her arms across her chest. "_ _Well, now you're being purposely obtuse,_ _" she breathed with a dose of annoyance. "Is there something I need to know? Can't you just say it?"_

 _Marshaling his courage, Maui finally set his resolve,"Ok, ok… just close your eyes."_

 _Moana huffed loudly but complied nonetheless. He curved her right hand around his wrist and shakily slid a ring onto her finger._

 _"You can open your eyes now."_

 _When Moana's eyes widened with apparent awareness of what this may have implied, Maui felt himself cringing preemptively at whatever she had realized._

 _"Your Mom helped me pick it out," he said still in a nervous voice as she admired it. Moana could see her mother's gentle, effeminate influence in a modest but elegant twist of jade._

 _"Maui... it's, it's beautiful!" she smiled genuinely before rewarding him with a chaste kiss on his cheek."Thank you."_

 _"Your...your welcome," Maui blushed, adorably awkward, as though the whole universe were watching them._

 _It was a particularly poignant gesture from his part, especially when Moana reminisced the Demigod had never been too shy to verbalize his love for her. He was always quite explicit in his show of affection. Thus, to watch him flinched and squirmed in trepidation could feel peculiarly heartwarming. Somewhere between the lines she could read that he had taken his proposal seriously and perhaps, had spent a considerable amount of time picturing of their future together._

 _"Since when you go all shy and tongue-tied, huh?" she grinned at him._

" _Since I meet you, I guess." He equated her smile, but Moana still could see an imperceptible sense of insecurity lurking underneath._

" _Maui, what it is?" she urged him. After knowing Moana for a good part of her adult life, Maui could only be sure, the stubborn girl wouldn't give up her fight once she had set her heart to dig the truth out of him._

" _Mo, I know I don't have much to offer to you. I don't have land...riches...Hell, I don't even have a home! I know I don't deserve to be the man that you loved, but with this ring, may I have the honor of having you as my…-"_

" _Maui…." she silenced him with her finger on his lips. "You don't have to ask me. I am sure you know the answer. I don't wish to marry land, buildings, jewelry….I wish to marry you."_

" _Well, I just want to make sure," he scratched the side of his head that wasn't itchy. "May I…-?" He insinuated shyly with his eyes, and she answered him with a positive smile._

 _Discerning that Moana had given him permission to do so, he gathered his courage to frame her face._

 _The word of consent melt between their lips, letting passion and love be trapped between their tongues, like a gap of unfilled words that were far too raw and embarrassing to be spoken, yet could not be denied. As both of them ended the earnest battle, they slowly parted, eyes fluttering open, gazing into each other contentedly._

" _Where have you been, all my life?" she asked as she went pliant in his arms._

 _His warm eyes never faltered staring at the form in front of him with great adoration. Then all the doubt flew from him, all the insecurity, the guesswork. Moana might never say it out loud, but she was here. She wanted to be with him, as far as she could tell….she wanted to be with him forever._

 _Maui smiled."I am always here…. waiting for you."_

 _By then, she knew that the crazy, utterly vain Demigod had ensnared her heart, together with every fiber of her being. She loved him with earnestness, with power that even she couldn't fully comprehend. He gazed up at him with the look of undying affection. She had declared herself madly in love with this man, and all it had taken was one stupid accident that had turned her life around._

 _In just a moment, one kiss, one ring…. had changed everything…._

Moana broke of her trance trembling, her idle hand grasped the ring unconsciously, fingers riddling the Fish Hook pattern weaved on its surface. The tingling sensation from the vivid recollection of him still lingered on her lips. It felt so real, and she silently wished it hadn't been because it made her to miss him more.

However, one year was a long time for a mortal, more so for an unmarried woman of her age. One by one, her peers overtook her: courted, betrothed, tied the knot and procreated. Tui and Sina had cajoled their daughter to move on: to accept his absence and to forget the trace of his love that seemed to be permanently tattooed on her heart. They wished her memory of him would fade away just like his presence did.

But, sometimes when you love someone, it became impossible to look at things with the spectacle of rationality, even the most regular ones.

It hurt. Yes, of course. It hurt her to see him ended like this.

Moana tried to ignore the feeling, shoved it off to the back of her mind, telling herself that eventually, everything would be fine - Maui was a Demigod, a superhero, an immortal creature after all. She tried hard to tire herself to sleep, numbing all her sadness and hoping her dream would be better than reality.

But even when she closed her eyes, the generous smile on his face and the sincere passion that was illuminating his eyes - still imprinted vividly in her mind. She could cover her ears, but the soothing timbre of his voice and the boisterous sound of his laughter would still echo persistently like the melody of crashing wave reaching the shore. She could hide herself under sheets of blankets and still felt his warm touch lingering in every inch of her. She wanted to lock her memories away. No, she didn't want to discard their adventures, nor did she wanted to forget. She simply wished to lock them away until she was ready to remember.

She wept, not physically and not with tears… She wept in her heart, pleading earnestly with gods who hold the power of the universe, to return him to the place he supposed to be - right here with her, and that their destiny to together don't end here.

* * *

First of all, pardon my laziness for using a ring here. As my research suggested, ring and marriage proposal wasn't done this way in ancient Polynesian. I was using them just so that it's easier for us to relate, and easier for me to write. Ha! :-)

To those of you that hasn't work out this yet, Maui had fallen into a coma. Oh yes, don't know why I love angst so much?


	3. Chapter 3

Five years later.

When she was little, Moana had always been told that love was the greatest miracle in life. That the supreme happiness in life is the conviction that we are loved. But at the moment, love was not her miracle. It was her invigorating curse, the force that fettered her down, ripping her coherency apart, imprisoning her senses and misleading her to an empty hope.

And that four letter word was slowly tearing her logic to pieces. It had obliterated her happiness, defying all her reasoning and replacing her senses with numbness.

It's been five years.

Five years since she last saw the radiance of his mesmerizing eyes.

Five years since she heard her name fell from his lips.

Five years since she had waited for him to turn his promise into a reality.

She'd been waiting, patiently, but those promise had remained a mystery.

But somehow, where there is love, there is hope, even when in the course of her life their love never materialize until it was too late, Moana was certain she would stay faithfully waiting.

That morning, like many other mornings before, Moana stepped into the room, watching the ray of sun shyly filtered through the slight opening of the fale's window.

On one corner of the bedroom, laid a familiar figure as though sleeping peacefully on the bed. His figure weaved with a sea of tattoos, and his torso comfortably tucked in a thin layer of blanket.

"Morning, Maui…"

There was no reply. But this was hardly surprising, the same ritual, the same motion had been repeated relentlessly many mornings before.

Gulping down her irrational disappointment, Moana went on to open the curtain, welcoming the brilliance of the golden ray and the scent of salty water filling the air. The smell of the ocean reminded her of him, and she couldn't even breathe properly when he wasn't here. She briefly gazed at his listless form. Well, he was technically here… but his mind and soul were clearly drifting elsewhere.

She missed him. She missed the sound of his boisterous laughter, his boundless vanity, his preening persona that often kindled a hammy laugh for being narcissistic. She missed his dry, dramatic jokes that lightened her days, his never-ending bragging in front of his sycophantic supplicant and his smug grin as he was basking in their adoration.

She sighed sadly as she deposited herself on the floor, next to his bedroll, sitting there in silence watching his chest rise and fall rhythmically. Witnessing him like this creating an inexplicable combination of familiar sadness and relief she had always strived to explain.

It was odd to say the least that the world around her seemed so distantly different, surreal and unreal without him. The sea breeze didn't breathe the same refreshing scent anymore; instead, they unlocked sorrowful, afflicting memories she thought would forever be buried in the darkest corner of her mind. The beach didn't excite her anymore, and she had refused to set sail - because, there was sacredness in the ocean - it was a nostalgic place of their adventure, the place that held their future together, and the place that reminded her how life should've been if he were still here.

The mention of his name rekindled all the bittersweet memory she had never been offered before. His hug was well-practiced routine, and Moana often wondered how many maidens had fallen into his arms before - this was how being a prisoner of love felt like.

"It's been five years, Maui. Five years since I almost lost you," she whispered as her fingers following the curve of his chin, looking at his peaceful feature. He laid there mutely as though listening patiently on every word that fell from her lips.

"But it felt just like yesterday," she said, her hands curling gently around his fingertips, fantasizing of a familiar hand on her shoulder, a generous, bear-sized hug, perhaps even a lingering kiss on her forehead.

It was a choking sense of familiarity that ached her. She could map every groove and scar within his body as well as mapping her mind of the sea, knew the sloping curve of his muscle, every blemish and every indentation printed on his skin as well as she knew her own name.

"I missed our adventure. The sea felt so different without you."

She closed her eyes, resting her head on his granite hard chest. He smelt like cool Pacific breeze and salty ocean, and his breathing had a soothing timbre to it.

"But I missed your smile the most because it told me so many things I love about you."

As she silently traced the living tapestry on his skin, the same bitter-sweet memory replayed in her mind, reminding her of their happy days. The days that filled with rapturous laughter, emotional hugs, passionate kisses and boundless hope - the time of her life that would be forever tattooed in her mind. His cheesy songs that filled her night, his big, strong arms that curled protectively around her slender frame, his unforgivingly romantic replied for every little thing that she said.

"This I shall promise you. However long, I shall be here," she said, her voice became small."...Waiting for you."

She had learned to love him when the sun set and rose up. When the day felt empty, the room felt lonesome, and her life seemed meaningless. She had learned to love him when sharp trial sliced through her heart and pierced her soul. She had learned to endure itall, because she knew: the pain it costs to love, no matter how painful - it is always worth it.

* * *

Maui didn't exactly know what happened to him. The day his consciousness fell into the pit of oblivion, it felt like everything went dark, forgotten, and silent. But one day, he noticed how he began to fill the warm, comforting feeling of the sun ray caressing his body, the soft, woven blanket wrapped around him or the plushness of whatever he was sleeping on.

It took him some effort to crack open his eyelids that felt being secured by metaphorical padlock around it. But as soon as it was opened slightly, he immediately took note of his surrounding: the timber post ceiling, its flax roof, some familiar carving on the pillar and a tapa that dressed the wall depicting a smiling girl perching on her canoe.

 _Moana._ His eyes widened. Every single neuron in his brains reminded him of what took place few months, days, and hour before the incident took place.

It felt like he hadn't seen her for eternity.

Wait, how long had been he sleeping actually?

"Maui…?"

Moana could hardly believe it, except that she knew she would never allow herself the luxury or the comfort of hallucinating his presence back in this mortal realm. While it seemed impossible that he's here, she knew he was real.

That familiar voice snapped him from his delusion, immediately turned his eyes.

After a moment of clearing his vision, Maui's eyes lock with her right away, and immediately Moana's chest loosened and her body sagged with relief and hope and wonder.

He's here. He'd come back. He'd come back for her.

"Maui…-" she repeated in disbelief. Her voice began to crack and her eyes glazed with tears, although Moana tried desperately to hide it from him, because it was not supposed to be a sad occasion. This should be the happiest day of her life! Because Maui was back in the world of the living, both in body and in spirit. She didn't have to dream about him anymore. And that, Moana reckoned, was nothing less of a miracle. Her wait just ended!

Fighting the tears that threatened to fall, Moana hurried to help him to sit and wrapped him gently with her hands, whispering incomprehensible words of gratitude, thanking gods for answering her prayer.

There was a moment of surprise as her slender body imprinted against his. That shock came with a tug in Maui's chest. She was perfectly placed by his side, leaning physically where his heart was, and overpowering sense of elation as he felt her arm encircled him. Her hug was paradoxically strong and tight, almost protective... yet passionate and gentle, as she had savored it only for very few selected individual. It took him a few fleeting moment before he hugged her back, running her huge palm over her silky hair, indulging the feeling of her slender frame in his arms.

"Moana…"

He finally found his voice, although his tone was drained and not much louder than a whisper, it was joyous. With a smile decorated his face, as he extricated himself from the hug, taking a better look on her.

"How long… have I've been…-?"

"Five years," she answered him.

 _That long?_ Maui swallowed. That was a sobering thought if there ever was one.

Drawing back just enough, he examined her with caution, trying to pinpoint what had changed. Maui saw it then. He saw what his bliss-crazed mind had failed to detect. And now that the initial waves of shock were fading, he noticed: a tattoo weaved on her cheek, many more spiraling down her arms and her back; subtle wrinkles around the eyes that hadn't been there last time he saw her. Her skin was darker. Her face was harder. She looked older. Five days couldn't age someone, even Moana, that rapidly.

And the realization over what had kind of torment Moana must have endured during his absence hit him, wiping all his gleeful smile into a remorseful frown.

"Moana," he sighed, cupping her cheek and rubbing his thumb across her skin. She shivered under his touch. "Oh, Moana..." He raked his finger through her raven locks and pressed their foreheads together. _Five perilous years_ … how could he?! Immortality be damn, perhaps it was better if he died so Moana could move on with her life.

"I am sorry…-" he said breathlessly, averting his eyes that were stinging with tears. "I'm sorry I leave you for so long."

But Moana shook her head, leaning forward and wrapped her hands around his and she understood the answer for all of her question. She didn't need his explanation, even that didn't seem to matter anymore because he was here!

"There is nothing to forgive, Maui." _Nothing…_

That seemed to alleviate him, as he let out an easy exhale.

Without preamble, she leaped and hugged him again as tears of joy escaped from her eyes. Moana's hug was strong and bold, tightly gripping him, as a reflection of her determination and earnestness to protect those she loved. While his hug was soft and caring, portraying his tenderness and his affection towards her. And after such a disturbing turn of reality, nearly losing someone you deeply cared forever - did put things into perspective.

"Please stay..." he pleaded, gripping her slender frame closer to his, not willing to let go. "Please stay with me…" His voice was thick with melancholy, as the eruption of emotion began to take control of his being.

Moana wasn't in much different place either, burying her face on his wide shoulder she began to weep, allowing herself to have that freedom to express how she felt, releasing the sadness that she had felt lasted for eternity.

"I am not going anywhere," Moana's voice was grinding hoarsely at the corner of her words. _And you are the reason I'm still here,_ she whispered to herself.

He was so close that she felt his breaths spilling like a gentle wave. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead gently. She noted the way he held her waist, and how her body contoured and fit nicely around his.

It felt so right.

* * *

Suddenly, the door of the fale flung open, revealing an adorable little face with wavy hair, beautiful dark brown eyes and a flower sitting daintily right above her ears.

The little girl stared at Maui with her inquisitive eyes. Before long her lips curled into a heartbreakingly adorable smile, and a glint of happiness radiated from her face. "Oh, he is awake! Finally! Mommy…. he is awake!"

 _Mommy?_ The word felt like invisible punch onto his heart. _Oh yeah, she has to move on! Of course! Foolish you, Maui! It's been five years. Five stupid years!_ Maui thought ruefully in his head. _And perhaps her dad pestered her endlessly about her job to replenish the family heritage._

"Whetu, quick tell your Grandma and Grandad that…."

But the little girl's delight seemed to outshine Moana's instruction. She absconded from their sight, squealing and howling enthusiastically, commanding her short legs to carry her as quick as possible to Tui's fale.

"He's awake…. He's awake!" she warbled. Her little, cute voice resonated until ebbing away in the distance.

"She's cute. Who her name again? Wathoo? Weento? Wee…-"

"Whetu," Moana corrected. "A star."

Stars were one of the few constants in Moana's life. No matter where she went, she could look up and see her old friends who had been burning brilliantly for thousands of years, staring down from the heaven with their silent eyes watching over her. Whetu was a metaphorical portrayal of the girl's father and a description of the pivotal role he held in her life. That mental picture made her smile for a second.

Maui muted for a moment, train of thoughts running wildly in every direction, each one taunting him with information and infinite possibilities. _Who is her father? And… where is he? Has Moana... married someone?_

"She...she is lovely," Maui gulped, struggling to find the right words between confused emotion that swelling inside his chest.

"Of course!" Moana laughed. Before long the girl reappeared with Tui and Sina trailing behind her.

"Mommy..?" the little girl inched closer, cautiously approaching the bedside, her eyes fixated on Maui, scrutinizing his every feature.

"Now, why don't you say hello?" Moana coaxed the toddler, placing her on Maui's lap. Tui and Sina just smiled, quietly wiping happy tears as they stood in the doorway.

"Daddy?" she said, testing the words.

For a moment, he truly believed he's lost his mind along with his heart. The words were like a powerful tsunami lapping and crushed his mind, Maui grappled the edges of the bed to prevent from falling. _Daddy? Me?_ He stared back at Moana incredulously.

"She is…. She is…. _mine_?" he supplied, not sure of what else to say. On the background, Tui and Sina's smile grew a fraction wider, but they decided to subtly leave and gave their daughter the pedestal to clarify things privately.

"Can't you tell?" Moana frowned. Well, it was good to know that apparently Maui was just as stubbornly obtuse despite suffering from a serious concussion.

The little girl on his lap bit her lower lip and looked up at him, expectantly. Her curiosity nearly gets the better of her, and she's about to ask him her first in a litany of questions when he gently pushes some of her hair away from her face and gives her that playful half-smile. But she decided to wait, quietly cradling a doll figure to calm her nerves.

"But...we...did we…-?"

He paused again and made a face, squeezing all the juice of his memory. And he finally found the particular page in his brain that happened around a week before the unfortunate incident. They were alone on a short mission to clear a carnage after a strong earthquakes shook the island. It was a calamity like Maui had never seen in his life, people hurting, trapped around the rocks. The stench of the corpse that polluted the air still lingered stubbornly in his nostril. The entire island had turned into a morgue. It took him months to erase those horrifying image from his mind. And in their moment of vulnerability, they sought refuge in each other's arm… which obviously had gone further than they planned.

Gently, she approached him, holding out her hand to encase his. The gesture inadvertently invited his attention on a familiar object sitting on the digit of her finger. The light bounced off the gentle curve of the stone, taunting him with its beauty.

He almost choked. A sadness swept over him, as he pressed her forehead to her, still running her hair between his fingers as his own words resonated around the wall of his heart.

 _Five more days, Mo…. Five more days until you are mine._

"Maui, are you okay?"

Still, he remained maddeningly silent. Yet she noticed the brief change in his stance as he shifted weight from one side to the other. And then his shoulders dropped ever so slightly.

"Are you still feeling guilty for… for not marrying me?"

His head snapped in her direction, surprise written on his face. But then he just sighed, running a hand over his head, pulling at the hairs at the base of his scalp.

"How can I not? I _am_ the cause of all this."

" _Was_ …" she emphasized. "And I said it again. I am not blaming you for it. No one does. It's an accident, Maui. You are mine always. And I just want the chance to be yours...and I had that chance."

"What are we going to do now? I mean…" he gulped. "You are an unmarried woman with a child. And.. I…-" He sighed deeply, turning to look at her, the pain so prevalent in his eyes. Not only he had caused her to wait, he had left her with his child… weathering all the social stigma and general prejudice. _Alone_. Maui couldn't decide if his presence was making things better or irrevocably worse.

"You know, Maui, I haven't thought something through in...quite some time." Moana said it in a light manner, but he could hear the sad undertone and immediately understood the truth she was concealing between words.

 _Since he'd been gone._ Maui felt his heart thrumming with ache. Exactly how long she had been living like this, waiting indefinitely… scared and alone? She seemed relatively stable, but even his Moana had mastered the art of concealment.

Maui's attention naturally gravitated toward the little person on his lap, the one who had intimately called her _'daddy'_.

Maui felt his heart throbbing with chronic aftershock, his throat tightening, on the verge of a gulp, but he couldn't even swallow. Sure, he was always told that he was destined for greatness, but being a father was never one of them. His mind was still having trouble processing it, though clearly, the evidence stood before him.

The girl was watching him with that same quiet expectancy, studying him with a kind of awe that he felt unworthy of.

Immediately, Maui began taking inventory. She had so many of Moana's features—her cascading wavy hair, those piercing dark brown eyes, even the hint of innocent inquisitiveness in her expression was the same. His heart flooded with warmth when he finally found a piece of himself on her face, even when it wasn't as superficially prominent. The girl certainly was an odd blend of two very conflicting personas.

It was then Maui understood why father treasured their daughter so much.

"You are so much like your mom, Kid," he remarked. "But you definitely have my charming smile."

An unexpected wave of pride hit him, seeing the way her face lit up like the sun on his simple remark.

"I have your action figure," she shyly pulled the dolly that bore a little resemblance to himself. "Mommy made it for me, she said I can hold on to it until you come back," she went on explaining. Under normal condition, Maui would tease Moana to no end on her poor feminine prowess in sewing and weaving.

"Do you?" Maui accepted the doll and studied the inanimate object in his palm.

"Yes!" she replied with fervor. "He has been protecting me from nightmares! He is my hero!"

Maui's mouth began curving with the beginnings of a smile. _And perhaps someday I'll have yours, my little hero._

* * *

Days right after his miraculous recovery seemed to fly by like lightning. There was plenty of adjustment to be dealt with, from aiding the villagers, helping Moana with her chiefly responsibility, doing his usual cool superhero feat… to taking turn babysitting a rowdy, overly energized five years old. Undoubtedly, it was a steep learning curve for someone who usually squandered his time pleasuring about his solitary island, singing and dancing to himself. Maui knew, if he wanted to be the man who deserved a woman as wonderful as Moana, he had to remain focused, and thanks to his obstinate proclivity, normally Maui succeeded in doing so.

However, today his mind refused to concentrate and the vow that he had rehearsed until his jaw ached, seemed to transpired into distant memory.

His eyes traced the woman in a simple red bandeau and lavalava skirt, emerged on the horizon, and suddenly he felt his chest tightened and his heart thundering violently in his ears. Maui swore there was nothing as captivating as the sight he beheld. Next to him, Sina smiled gently, reminding him to breathe.

It was nothing like a wedding he had imagined during the blissful days of their courting. There was hardly any crowds, and his bride was dressed ever so simply with only a large red hibiscus adorned her tresses. Her eyes never left his as she approached him, their little toddler rested on her side.

Despite everything, he smiled. Maui had always fantasized what Moana Waialiki might look like kissing babies and taking a proper feminine role... and he had to admit the real picture did not disappoint.

She was beautiful…. And she was _his_.

They stood in front of a few elders, who went on with the sequence of ceremony. Somehow, their voice almost drowned like unwanted background noise, diffused into the sound of the crashing waves. At one minutes or the other, Maui captured something playful crossed her features, but he didn't have time to understand it, before she grabbed his face, crashing her lips into his. He was too shocked to properly respond at first, but soon enough he started moving with her, an equal give and take—which frankly was much more forceful than he'd anticipated. She kissed him with zeal, with a raging fuel he'd always loved about her, but to experience her like this went beyond his fantasies. She tasted better than he remembered, like freedom and salvation.

As his tongue danced with hers, the pressing guilt of being away from her for years was forgotten. All he could smell and hear and feel for ten glorious seconds was Moana. This was like having a hard blow on his head all over again, except it felt good.

This was hope and dream and reality all blended together in one searing mouthful.

This was exactly where he belonged, not as a demigod, not as a hero, but simply being the man who loved Moana Waialiki with all that he had.

 _You are mine always. And I just want the chance to be yours…._

* * *

Note: Do you remember Maui teased Moana about her kissing babies back at the village when she stubbornly followed him to Lalotai?

Dani-miha did a wonderful picture for me, I've posted it on the last chapter of 'It's Arranged' in Ao3.


End file.
